


lost & found

by demios



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: M/M, ghost au, some creepy stuff in the beginning but i'm terrible at suspense so maybe not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-26
Updated: 2014-12-26
Packaged: 2018-03-03 15:42:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2856272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demios/pseuds/demios
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hide and Kaneki go ghostbusting. Kaneki takes home something sinister.</p>
            </blockquote>





	lost & found

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SEABlRD](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SEABlRD/gifts).



> ok so this is for the tkg secret santa for halfandhalf-kaneki/Jai on tumblr! i hope you like it and i'm sorry for any mistakes! ;;orz

Hide’s plans were always … creative, to say the least. Admittedly, most of them were pretty fun, but this one…

Hide shoved the camcorder into his grasp. Kaneki gave him a skeptical look. “ _Really?_ ”

“Yes, _really_. We’re gonna _investigate_ and it’ll be _cool_.” His friend threw an arm around him. “Unless… you’re scared of ghosts?” He asked teasingly.

“Of course not. I’m just scared we’re going to get caught _trespassing_.” Kaneki glanced over at the abandoned house that sat at end of the street. It had been untouched for years; the last family that moved in didn’t even last a month before they had made some claims about it being bad luck. Or that was what Hide had managed to dig up from obscure paranormal websites, anyways.

“Listen, no one’s bothered to check this place for ages. We’ll be fine!” He gave Kaneki a pat on the back before excitedly walking towards the building in question.

“Hey, wait up!” This was clearly a bad idea, but _someone_ had to make sure Hide didn’t die in there.

\--

“Alright!” Hide entered the musty interior and looked around with a gleam in his eye. “Spooky, huh?”

“If you say so…” The only thing ‘spooky’ was Hide’s ability to pick the lock to the front door. Kaneki looked around. It seemed like a normal house, if a bit musty from disuse.

Hide bounced over, taking the camcorder from his friend’s grasp and turned it on. The flashlight attached to it shined brightly, giving both of them a better idea of the house’s layout. “…There we go.” He said after some fiddling. “Creepy as hell house investigation by Hide and Kaneki: take one!”

“This house…” Hide aimed the camera in front of him and walked further inside. He paused and gestured for Kaneki to follow before resuming. “…. is said to be haunted by a vengeful spirit that tries to _kill_ anyone who stays here. No one is sure where the spirit originated from, but violent deaths are typically the cause of a restless bloodthirsty spirit. There doesn’t seem to be anything weird about this house, but me and my buddy Kaneki are gonna see if we can debunk this urban legend… or become one of its victims…” He concluded his narration with a sinister tone. But Hide still wore that bright grin of his, causing Kaneki to roll his eyes.

Hide stopped when he reached the kitchen and fished into his back pocket for something to hand to Kaneki. “Here, use this.”

It was a… voice recorder?

“We should split up and cover more ground, y’know? I found it in the closet last week. It’s kinda ancient, but that should work alright… you know what to do, right?” Hide glanced at him expectantly.

Kaneki shook his head. He barely even knew what Hide was trying to accomplish, let alone why he was given the voice recorder.

“What you do is: you go upstairs, and you ask the ghost questions while this thing is on.” Hide pointed to the device in his hand. “I’ll be on this floor, and then I’ll check out the basement. If you get scared, yell. I’ll meet you upstairs when I’m done.”

“Okay, I guess. “ He eyed the voice recorder dubiously. This seemed like a waste of time, but Hide seemed really bent on it, for whatever reason. He met Hide’s gaze for moment and gave a wry smile. “Don’t die on me, Mr. Ghost Investigator.”

“Don’t worry ‘bout me, Kaneki; see ya in a bit!” Hide restarted his exploration of the ground floor while Kaneki retreated back to the foyer and up the narrow passage of stairs.

The house was dark, and he had to squint to see where steps were the further he progressed up the stairs. Luckily, he managed not to trip, reaching the top of the steps and surveying the area. Unable to see past a few feet in front of him, he used his phone flashlight to illuminate the passageway. Once it could see, he noticed something…

It was strange; there didn’t seem to be any other open rooms save for a door at the end of the hall. The rest were boarded up. Admittedly, it was a little unnerving, but nothing that signaled the presence of a ghost or anything.

He clicked on the voice recorder and began slowly walking down the hall. What was he even supposed to do? He racked his brain for what the victims in Hide’s numerous ghost movies did. “Hello…? Is anyone here…?” It was weird just talking to himself. Still, he pressed on. Maybe pretending someone was actually with him would make it less awkward.

“My name is… Kaneki Ken. It’s… nice to meet you.” He passed one of the sealed doors and registered the loud creak of the floorboard. A shiver ran up his spine, but he stopped himself from doing anything rash. Kaneki swallowed and continued. “I’m... in college. At Kamii University. I study literature, and I love reading. I highly recommend Takatsuki Sen… have you ever read her works? They’re amazing…”

He swore he saw a shadow dart out of the corner of his eye and felt his heart skip a beat, entire body freezing for a moment. Once he thought it was safe again, he let out the breath he held. Kaneki berated himself afterwards for acting like a frightened rabbit; what was there to be worked up over? There were no ghosts here, it was just an old house. People were too superstitious, and he wasn’t going to be one of them. Kaneki quietly let out a nervous laugh. It was just the lack of sleep and mountain of term papers getting to him. He steadied his breathing and walked the last leg to the door that lay at the end of the hall.

His hand trembled slightly as he reached for the doorknob, half-hoping it would be locked so he could turn around and _leave_. But his hopes were dashed as he pulled open the door. The rational part of his mind told him there was nothing there, but his instincts begged to differ. The air in the room was chilling, and he was reluctant to enter, his legs seeming to have gone slightly stiff.

Once inside, he shone his light around the proximity. There weren’t any windows or furniture, except for a single chair in the center. Against his better judgment, he approached the chair. It seemed to be made of metal, and he vaguely noticed a dark stain on the floor beneath it. “Is anyone here…?” He asked quietly so it would take some of the odd tension away.

A second afterward he heard… _something_. It sounded like someone’s harsh _breathing_ , but he was the only one in the room, and he didn’t think he was breathing that loudly. Wanting to drown out the new noise, he closed his eyes and started talking again. “I’m… Kaneki. I came here with my friend, to investigate. He said there might be a ghost here, but that’s just a ridiculous rumor. Ghosts don’t exi--”

Kaneki almost jumped when he heard the violent clatter of metal falling to the ground. _Right in front of him._ He knew what had happened, but he didn’t dare open his eyes should he see _something else._

He clutched the voice recorder and his phone tighter in his hands. He should probably leave… the door was just right behind him, right? He only needed to turn around and walk straight down the hall again.

Only his legs felt like they were made of impossibly heavy stone, and he was unable to move. He wasn’t sure what paralyzed him, as there _shouldn’t_ have been anything to be terrified of in there. Yet a dread settled itself in the pit of his stomach when his thoughts quieted enough so he could hear the breathing again. It seemed louder this time, as if it was right in his ear. If he focused on it he thought he could feel a light breath on his face. Kaneki whimpered slightly, wanting to bolt from his spot and away from the house. He couldn’t feel a presence behind him, but something stopped him from leaving all the same.

After a few moments that felt like an eternity, the breathing suddenly vanished… he thought he heard the faint whisper of “ _Ka… ne… ki…_ ” before it stopped. However, there was not time for relief; the breathing was replaced by an indescribable sound that was deafening. He wanted to cry, for it to stop, but I only seemed to get louder. It sounded like the scraping of claws against flesh, as if something was crawling up his body and wrapping itself around his brain.

“No…” A plea escaped his throat. He didn’t understand what or why this happening and prayed it was a dream or vivid hallucination or anything but _real._

A voice shattered his thoughts. “ _Do you know what this is…?_ ” It was raspy a hushed, like an urgent secret being shared. Kaneki didn’t respond, starting to tremble instead.

“ _This…_ ” Kaneki felt ice-like fingers rest on his shoulders. He fought the urge to shake them off, fearing what would happen if he did. A bead of sweat ran down his temple as he processed both the horrible scratching and the sinister voice. _“…is the sound of a live centipede in your ear_.”

Kaneki couldn’t take it anymore; his eyes flew open frantically taking in the scene before him. In that same instance, the sound and weight on his shoulders disappeared. But whatever malign entity resided here was not finished with him.

In the space next to the fallen chair stood a bloodied figure dressed in black rags. The person’s head was down, hidden by a curtain of short disheveled hair that was purely white. The sight of the figure only lasted a second before it was consumed by… _centipedes_.

Kaneki watched the person’s form get swallowed by what must have been hundreds of centipedes that transformed him into nothing more than a mound covered by the bugs. He tore his eyes away from what became of the person, which led him to an even grimmer sight. The centipedes that covered the figure also covered the floor like a carpet; they writhed on the ground and over his shoes, a few traveling up his pant legs already.

He gasped and stepped back, shaking his leg to get them off. But before he knew it, the centipedes had regained their hold on him at a rapid pace. Unable to move, he could feel them crawling up his legs, his arms, and even creeping up his neck to his face.

He screamed before they spilled into his mouth.

\--

And that was the incident that led him to his current… situation.

Hide found him passed out in the room after he heard him scream. Apparently he had carried him out, because he found himself in his bed with a hastily scrawled note on his dresser.

He texted Hide fervently about the _centipedes_ and _the figure_ and was only to be met with confusion and concern. He supposed it was just a result of how much he had been wearing his body down. He thought nothing of the slightly colder temperature in his apartment and went back to sleep.

A series of interesting occurrences took place not long after the incident. There were always surprises when he came back from class.

At first he would see small _things_ quickly scuttle across the floor; they moved too fast for him to capture or kill, but he knew exactly what they were. No matter how much repellant he sprayed, there always seemed to be one or two that managed to get in.

There were also the remnants of his unwelcome guests that appeared as frequently as they did. Sometimes he was greeted by unsightly spots of bug guts on his floor, which he proceeded to clean up without attempting to think of the cause. Maybe the neighbor’s cat paid him a visit through his unlocked door? (Only his door was never unlocked, and the neighbor’s cat was old and never left their apartment)

He had pushed what he saw that night out of his mind weeks ago, but the images began to resurface when he would feel the faintly bone-chilling touch of a hand on his shoulder moments before he would fall asleep. On more than one occasion he would imagine there being a soft whisper of his name at the back of his mind.

Now and then he thought he could see the figure out of the corner of his eye , but when he turned to look there would be nothing there. Sometimes, while he was awake, it felt like a hand would try to reach out and touch him, but always retracted at the last second.

Things reached their peak when he found the voice recorder while rummaging through his desk drawers. He had forgotten about it; Hide never asked for it back. Kaneki wondered what exactly it captured, as he never bothered to turn it off during his ordeal at the house.

He was curious. His hand flicked it on and he listened to the recording.

Of course, there was him being startled by every creak the house made and talking to himself nervously. But as he listened to himself reach the room at the end of the hall, he heard a voice riddled by static seemingly respond to his questions. There were scattered mentions of “ _not my house_ ,” and “ _hurts_ ” and “ _Kaneki…_ ” As the recording progressed, there seemed to be no other sound other than distorted whispers of “ _help me help me help me help me_ ” leading up to where it cut off. It was chilling, what he heard. He promptly placed the recorder back into the drawer and contemplated what the last bit of the recording caught. It wasn’t his voice… no, it sounded like the voice of someone whose throat had gone raw from screaming.

He retrieved a notebook from another drawer and opened to a blank page. Writing down his thoughts sometimes helped, but he found himself too nervous to write, the pen he had in his hand shaking slightly. He swallowed thickly and wrote two sentences on the page. They weren’t much, but they felt dangerous. One part of him wanted an answer, but another part would rather move to the next ward over. He sighed and figured it was time to sleep, leaving the notebook open with the pen next to it.

\--

Thankfully, he didn’t feel the ghostly touch or hear the voice before he fell asleep last night. When he stumbled out of his room and into the kitchen, he noticed something different about the notebook. He walked over to where it sat almost untouched. There were extra words on the page he had left open.

First, was his writing.

_My name is Kaneki Ken._

_Who are you?_

Beneath his introduction and question was a single sentence.

_I am Shiro._

He rubbed his eyes. He definitely didn’t remember writing that last night. He was afraid, but also intrigued. He didn’t know of anyone named Shiro…

Making a hasty decision before he had to leave for classes, Kaneki picked up the pen that rested beside the notebook and wrote another couple sentences.

 _Nice to meet you, Shiro._ He might as well be polite. As for his next question…

 _Are you a ghost?_ It was a ridiculous question, but it was the only thing his mind could come up with at this time.

He thought it was even more absurd to be hoping for a response, but if it had worked the first time…

He swiped his coat from the chair and ran out of his apartment, realizing he was going to be late for his first class.

\--

When he came home, he was met with a surprise that wasn’t crushed centipedes for once.

He let small smile grace his lips in relief and read the lines of text that followed his.

_It is nice to meet you, too. I’m sorry for scaring you._

_Yes, I suppose you could call me that._ In an even smaller print were some words crossed out by a single neat stroke. _~~Weren’t you the one who said ghosts didn’t exist?~~_

Ah, so this one was sarcastic.

\--

So began the routine of writing messages to ‘Shiro’ before he left or slept and coming back to a reply written underneath his words.

At first, he was curious about who Shiro was; a series of short messages eventually led up to a lengthy explanation written by the person in question.

Shiro was a boy who lived in the area, but not in the house he and Hide had explored. But a series of unfortunate events led to him being held captive in the house and violently tortured by a killer under the alias Jason. He had tried to play the hero and save a mother and child from the imposing man, insisting that he would fight him. In actuality, his plan was to lead the man to the police. Things didn’t go as planned, and he was chained to the metal chair in the windowless room. Shiro recounted the numerous things Jason had done to him, which made Kaneki feel slightly sick while reading. Shiro wasn’t actually his name. In the room, he had lost his mind. He forgot who he was. No one looked for him. He died chained to the chair like an animal. The police found him shortly after Jason was caught.

In return, Kaneki talked about his daily life to distract Shiro from the memories that threatened to swallow him up. Shiro didn’t talk much, he learned, and was more than content to listen. His questions were answered with short responses, though the occasional wit slipped into what he wrote. Most of the time Kaneki wrote him messages, but sometimes he would simply talk out loud for Shiro to hear. During these times his apartment would feel a little warmer. The lack of phantom touches and centipedes was a bonus as well.

\--

“You know, Hide’s been asking me why I’ve been cooped up in my apartment lately.” Kaneki let out a small chuckle as he sat on the couch with his book. It was true Kaneki sometimes dedicated afternoons to talking with Shiro, who was still too shy to speak but brave enough to hold the pen while Kaneki was still in the room.

The pen moved across the notebook on the coffee table. It was always odd, seeing it glide across the page without anyone visible behind it. _Maybe you should leave more often?_

Kaneki shook his head. “I think it’s fine. You don’t like being alone, right?” The pen abruptly dropped; Kaneki imagined Shiro getting flustered. “Besides, I like talking to you.”

The pen slowly rose again. _Perhaps I could come with you?_

Kaneki considered the possibility. Wouldn’t it be weird, just ignoring Shiro while he talked with Hide? It didn’t seem fair.

_If you want, I could reveal myself._

“…Huh?” Kaneki hadn’t seen Shiro since... that night. He didn’t even see his face.

The pen continued. _It’s  true that I’m dead, but I can create a physical form for a limited amount of time… it takes a bit more energy, is all._

“I…see.”

 _Give me a moment. Close your eyes, will you?_ The pen placed itself next to the notebook.

The first time he closed his eyes around Shiro he was given nightmares, but he trusted Shiro now. Deep inside, he knew the boy wouldn’t do anything to him.

He was slightly startled by a hoarse voice. His mind registered it was _Shiro’s_.

“You can… open your eyes now.” The sentence was hesitant.

Kaneki opened his eyes and was shocked by what he saw. Shiro looked the same as he did that night, but he could see his face, and it –

“Isn’t that… my face?” Kaneki asked, confused.

Shiro nodded. “I forgot what mine looked like.” He confessed. “And I like yours, so…”

Kaneki blushed at the statement, even though it was probably nothing more than an innocent thought.

Shiro shifted uncomfortably, unsure of what to do next. Kaneki noticed, patting the cushion beside him. “Come here.”

Shiro sat on the cushion, amazed by how soft it was. It was a childish reaction, but he didn’t care.

Kaneki smiled when he noticed Shiro’s reaction. Admittedly, it was odd seeing his own face; yet he felt like it suited Shiro, who wore it like a different person.

He was also curious about one other thing…

Before he could restrain himself, his hand shot out to grasp one of Shiro’s in his own, earning a bewildered look from the other boy.

“S-sorry!” Kaneki pulled his hand away, but felt Shiro gently squeeze it to keep it in place.

Shiro looked at the joined hands intently, trying to form words. “It’s okay. Your hands are…” He brought his head up and met Kaneki’s eyes.  “…they’re warm.”

It was true; Shiro’s hands were always frigid. They were starting to feel more _human_ as Kaneki held them, though.

“Um… can I try something?” Shiro looked down again; this time his eyes were averted as a blush crept up his neck. “Can I… hug you?”

Shiro didn’t hear a response from Kaneki, worrying he already overstepped his bounds. He craved human touch so _badly_ and Kaneki had accepted him for what he was, despite their first meeting…

Shiro felt a warmth encase his shoulder and realized Kaneki was already hugging him. He let go of Kaneki’s hand so his other arm could wrap around his shoulders.

This was more than he could ever ask for, and he felt tears prick at his eyes. He, who didn’t belong anywhere, who was forgotten by the world, who was consumed by only his painful memories… was being embraced by someone who didn’t seem to care about any of those things anymore.

He brought his hands up and gripped Kaneki’s back, then burying his face into the crook of Kaneki’s neck and sobbing quietly. He expected Kaneki to push him away; after all, he was nothing more than a stranger that had followed him back. Why would Kaneki even want him in his life? But Kaneki simply used one hand to stroke his hair.

When Shiro pulled back, he wiped his eyes. How _embarrassing_. He didn’t say anything, but he knew Kaneki understood him by the way he gave him a gentle smile.

“…Welcome home, Shiro.”

The words made a few tears fall from Shiro’s eyes again, but Kaneki only gave a small laugh. “C’mon, I’m going to introduce you to Hide, right?”

Shiro felt like his chest feeling was going to burst, but he only nodded as Kaneki led him to the bedroom to find some new clothes.


End file.
